


looking at the autumn shade

by spaace



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-26
Updated: 2017-09-26
Packaged: 2019-01-05 13:26:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12190821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spaace/pseuds/spaace
Summary: just the day in the life of mike hanlon, our favorite farm boy!





	looking at the autumn shade

the crops on the hanlon farm were all growing fantastically. the trees were looking great; the permissions were plump and bright, and the cherries were deep in color and hard, almost enough to be picked. but what mike was really excited for, was the pumpkin patch. his father had never grown pumpkins before, and didn't want to take a risk. he didn't want to grow anything he didn't have to, he said, but mike was very persistent. he said it would be great business, they could sell them for for baking and jack of lanterns this fall.

as he tended to the delicate vines connecting all the pumpkins together, he smiled to himself. mike really wanted to plant the pumpkins this season so he could have a hand in helping his friends celebrate the fall holidays! he felt pride as he tried to puncture through a pumpkin's skin with his thumb nail and it resisted, that means it was ripe! as his hand traveled from one pumpkin to check the other, he heard a small noise. the faintest little chirp came from a birdie on top of a pumpkin. it had a little red patch on it's forehead, and a stroke of red feathers on it's little stomach. mike slid the pruners into the chest pocket of his overalls, and as he kneeled on one knee to get a closer look, he heard a loud gun shot.

there was a long distance between the slaughter house and the pumpkin patch, but sheep cried together, and they cried loud. mike shuddered, hearing the cries echo. no matter how many times he tried, he knew he could never do the slaughtering for his dad. he much preferred tending to the crops, and his family knew it, letting that be his permanent job on the farm after he told them he was a vegetarian. when he turned back to the patch, the lil birdie was no longer keeping him company. probably flew away, mike thought, startled by the loud noise. he made sure to make a mental note to tell stan about his little friend.

though he liked spending his time on the farm, he did like riding into town, the shops and streets were little and quaint, and he always got to see his friends. mike just had to be extra careful, his father warned him each time before sending him off with a pack of fresh meat. he actually was on his way home from dropping the packages off at the butcher's when he heard his name being called.

"mike!" he turned around, and there was bill, running towards him from across the street, pushing silver along side him, with the other losers following behind

"how are the p-p-puh-pumpkins coming along?" bill always stuttered a little more when he was excited. "d-d-do you think we could come buh-by and pick ours out?" he asked.

"yeah, hanlon, i'm ready to do some carving." richie said, kicking his bike stand.

"where's stan?" mike asked.

richie rolled his eyes and waved his hand, shooing off the subject. "you know he has like, bible study on thursdays, he's the preacher's son."

eddie elbowed richie in the gut. "torah, einstein." he corrected, "and he's the rabbi's son." richie regarded the remarks and threw his arm around eddie, kissing the top of his head

"what's the difference?" ben asked, biting into a candy bar.

"one has long, pointy ears," richie laughed, high fiving bill.

"rabbi!" eddie corrected again.

mike shook his head, laughing. "yeah, come on."

the losers biked on the empty path back to mike's home, swerving around as they pleased. the sides of the paths were decorated with tall, tall trees, their leaves ranging from burnt orange to bright green. and in between the branches, were peeks of the deep blue sky. the sun was close to setting when the losers arrived at the farm, each of them leaving their bikes at the fence as mike unlatched it for them.

mike watched as richie and eddie picked through the pumpkins, hand in hand. he remembered when eddie broke his arm, and richie snapped it back in place and held him. it was an unfortunate event, but right then and there, richie understood his true feelings for the boy, and they have been together since. mike thought it was silly, as much as they bickered back and forth. but maybe everyone realized how they felt that day, he thought, it definitely brought all the losers closer together. riche and eddie seemed happy together, and the two did everything together. like picking pumpkins, apparently.

"you know," bill started, snapping mike out of his thoughts, "g-g-g-uh," he stopped to take a deep breath. "georgie loved carving puh-pumpkins." he smiled. bill was holding a small pumpkin in his hands, rubbing against it with his thumb.

ben patted him on the back. "yeah, carving pumpkins is always fun." the three boys nodded. bill took a breather again before turning his attention to richie and eddie.

"did you guys f-fuh-find anything?" he called out to them.

"eddie called my glasses stupid!" richie yelled back

"well, at least he was being honest." ben snickered, elbowing bill

richie picked a pumpkin as big as his head, and eddie picked one much smaller. ben picked an average sized on, with a smooth surface for easier carving. bill grabbed two, and mike didn't mind.

"thanks again, hanlon," richie grinned, adjusting his glasses.

mike leaned against the picket fence after his friends left, watching the sun set on the farm. he thought back on that faithful day a couple summers ago again, but this time about stan. he can remember how loudly he screamed, and his face covered in blood. stan cried and screamed about how the losers left him, and how they weren't his real friends. mike couldn't do anything for him, and he felt like shit about it.

"hey!" stan called out to him, pushing his bike on the trail up to the fence. he kicked his bike stand, left his book bag on the ground, and jogged towards him. stan was still wearing his yarmulke, and the sweater he borrowed slid off his shoulders while he ran. the boy had scars circling his face from the iccident, but he still looked handsome as ever.

"you're late." mike grinned, pushing his flannel sleeves up.

he wrapped the smaller boy in his arms, "you're never gonna believe it. that bird came by again,"

stan pushed away, nose scrunched in frustration, "are you serious? i missed it again?"

mike laughed, "yeah, it left a message for you. it said," he began, nuzzling against stan's neck, "it said... your friends came by earlier and picked all the good pumpkins."

"then what are we doing?" stan escaped mike's grasp. he grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers, and started pulling him towards the pumpkin patch. " come help me pick one out!"


End file.
